ABSTRACT
Background/Aims@#Metabolic risk factors could accelerate hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related mortality; however, their impacts on disease severity in HBV-related acute on chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) patients remain unexplored. In this study, we assessed the effects of metabolic risk factors on the outcome of HBV-ACLF patients. @*Methods@#This study retrospectively enrolled antiviral therapy naïve HBV-ACLF patients from a single center in China. Patients were evaluated according to Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, 30-day, 90-day mortality and survival rate to estimate the prognosis of HBV-ACLF. The impacts of different metabolic risk factors were further analyzed. @*Results@#A total of 233 patients, including 158 (67.8%) with metabolic risk factors and 75 (32.2%) without metabolic risk factors, were finally analyzed. Patients with metabolic risk factors had significantly higher MELD score (22.6±6.1 vs 19.8±3.8, p<0.001), 90-day mortality rate (56.3% vs 38.7%, p=0.017), and shorter median survival time (58 days vs 75 days: hazard ratio, 1.553; 95% confidence interval, 1.061 to 2.274; p=0.036) than patients without them. Moreover, metabolic risk factors were independently associated with patients’ 90-day mortality (hazard ratio, 1.621; 95% confidence interval, 1.016 to 2.585; p=0.043). Prediabetes/diabetes and hypertension were related to higher rates of infection and worse renal function in HBV-ACLF patients. @*Conclusions@#HBV-ACLF patients with metabolic risk factors, especially prediabetes/diabetes or hypertension, could have more severe disease and lower survival rates. In addition, the existence of metabolic disorder is an independent risk factor for HBV-ACLF patients’ 90-day mortality.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of interleukin 18 (IL-18) in liver tissues of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and its clinical significance.Methods Totally 172 CHB patients admitted in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2012 to December 2012 were enrolled.The tissue specimens were obtained by liver biopsy from all patients,and 22 normal liver specimens were also collected as controls.Liver function,serum markers of HBV and HBV DNA load were measured and liver inflammation grades and fibrosis stages were assessed.Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of IL-18 in liver tissues.Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the correlations between IL-18 expression and the above indicators.Results IL-18 was mainly expressed in cytoplasm of liver cells.It was positive or strong positive in liver cells of healthy people,but weakly positive in liver cells of CHB patients.The difference of IL-18 expression between CHB patients and healthy people was of statistical significance (x2 =42.124,P ＜ 0.05).In CHB patients,the expression of IL-18 was gradually enhanced with the increasing of ALT,inflammation grades and fibrosis stages (r =0.182,0.173 and 0.068,P ＜0.05),but it was not correlated with HBV DNA load and HBeAg (r =-0.05 and 0.041,P ＞0.05).Conclusion In CHB patients,the expression of IL-18 may be involved in liver injury and fibrosis formation.